Telescopic sights and reflex sights are two sighting systems routinely used to aim a firearm. In general, telescopic sights are used to improve long range accuracy with a firearm while reflex sights are used at short range for rapid acquisition of and transitions between targets. Many shooters (e.g., warfighters or mult gun competitors) find it advantageous to mount both a telescopic sight and a reflex sight on their rifle. A rifle equipped with both telescopic and reflex sights allows the shooter to rapidly transition between a sighting system optimized for long range engagements and a sighting system optimized for short range engagements.
A variety of mounting options have been developed to facilitate the co-attachment of both a telescopic sight and a reflex sight to a firearm. Typically, a mount comprising a base and rings is used to secure a telescopic sight to the receiver of a firearm and a second mount configured to secure about the tube portion of the telescopic sight is used to secure the reflex sight thereto. In some instances, the second mount may be rotated about the tube portion of the telescopic sight to thereby position the reflex sight on the right or left side of the telescopic sight.
However, these mounting options have several disadvantages. First, the user may not be able to maintain a cheek weld when using the co-mounted reflex sight. This can affect the shooters ability to deliver accurate aimed fire using the reflex sight. Second, the distance between the co-mounted reflex sight and the bore of the firearm will cause there to be a significant difference between the parabolic travel path of a bullet fired from the firearm and the aiming point of the reflex sight. This can negatively affect the shooters ability to rapidly make precise shots at short range using the reflex sight.